Symmetrical corporate-public relationship: use social media to invite public participating in nurturing a brand

Some argue that social media contents such as Blogs, user generated video, and podcasts are out of control, anything is possible online. “Unlike journalists, bloggers may sometimes mix fact and opinion, report rumors, and fail to disclose conflicts of interest. Few YouTube video uploaders check first with the subjects of their videos for permission and copyright violations are rife” (Li & Bernoff, 2008). These threaten the power of organizations and the brand. I think this perspective is based on an “asymmetrical model” of the relationship between the organization and the public. They treat organizational reputation, brand image and PR/Advertising message as something delivered to the public aimed at advancing the standing and the projects of the organization. In this case, any meanings, values, beliefs not “made by the organization” are out of control, potentially negative, unofficial etc.

However, given the current social media context, and the world trend of increasing interdependence among people, groups, organizations and countries, I believe that a “symmetrical model” of corporate-public relationship maintaining, brand developing and corporate image building are going to replace the asymmetrical one. A symmetrical model treats public as important as the organization—both sides are working together to achieving the mutual understanding and goals and sharing of common interest. From this perspective, public relations programs are those that try to make sure the targeted publics benefit as much as the programs’ sponsors or originators. Brand images and characters are created and agreed upon by both corporate and public which formulate a collaborative partnership. Therefore, social media becomes a strong tool of organizations to develop and promote themselves in public.

Instead of monitoring negative blogs, audios, and videos, the organizations can join those bloggers and uploaders to comment on their digital contents. The organization can also create their own social media sites. From here, social media gains transformation power to the faith of organizations—it helps the organization to communicate to the world, and, more importantly, it gets the feedback. Through this way, those blogs, audios and videos endow a lifeless brand or economic entity with vivid human characters—a soul. Moreover, other authors of blogs read and comment on organizations’ blogs. Both sides also cite each other, adding links to other blogs from their own posts. This interlinking creates relationships between the blogs and their authors and forms the blogosphere.

I would like to introduce my favorite case from Honda’s video sharing site,

which is embedded with many social media channels such as twitter, facebook, delicious, digg etc. For me it seems like a corporate video blogs, like Martin Lindstrom does on Advertising Age site. All the videos encourage commentary, and it is these commentaries that help Honda to develop itself.

I will look into more details about Honda’s site in future, but it is really worth watching it, and subscribing to it.

Reference:

Li, C., & Bernoff, J. (2008). Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies. Harvard Business School Press (ISBN: 978-1422125007)